Siblings
by 1ceuponatime
Summary: From what he knows, brothers within commoner families fight all the time. Kyoya OneShot.


(I went through the Ouran anime last week in about two days, and have to admit that I've become a bit obsessed with Kyoya...

So here's a quick, pointless oneshot written in about thirty minutes with zero editing and well...enjoy)

-----

People always wondered about the relationship of the Ootori sons.

"An unfortunate circumstance, really. Three nice, smart boys in a position that puts them constantly fighting over their father's corporation."

Kyoya sometimes wondered about it himself. Though he wouldn't know how a normal- a _commoner_ family would act, he was sure it was quite different than the polite surface and underlying rivalry between him and his brothers.

Things had been better, and easier, when he had been carefully monitoring his brothers' abilities and staying a fraction behind. They, secure in their positions, had seen no threat in him and for the most part treated him like one of Father's underlings, with an evident feeling of superiority behind their professional attitudes.

It had angered him, of course, but in retrospect it was useful in training his self-control. What was harder than resisting each time he felt like punching the egotistical smirks off their faces?

-

_He was angry, really angry, that they were taking away his notebook and calculator. How was he supposed to calculate the monetary effect of this party on his family's funds, and the probability of it swaying the Hiashi Corp. to selling its western positions to the Ootori Corp., without them?_

_He faced the nursemaid with a cold, dark look on his eight-year-old face. _

"_As the son of your employer, I order you to return my possessions."_

"_I'm sorry, Kyoya-kun. This is under your brothers' orders. You are to meet them in the salon so they can evaluate your prediction skills." _

_He glared at her for a second more before assuming an expression of indifference and leaving the room, stopping himself from slamming the door behind him._

_There was no "evaluation" of his prediction abilities. There was only his brothers taking credit for all his calculations and analysis then ordering him to remain out of sight during the party. Father told them he had been "satisfied" with their results that night, while Kyoya was scolded for not making a larger impression on his business competitors._

-

As his brothers went through middle and high school, always the top of their class, Kyoya saw them as impenetrable obstacles between him and his goals. Oh, he could beat them in everything Father asked for, if only he was given the chance. But responsibility fell first on the oldest, and Kyoya watched in silent resentment as his brothers fulfilled expectations, praying that they fail and he be allowed an attempt.

As they began training in the family business, Kyoya stood behind and watched, learned, and smiled each time one of his brothers made a mistake or asked a stupid question. He never let them see the smile after the time it resulted in the loss of one of the Ootori Company's endorsers due to "his" mishap.

He got them back in time, of course. As an Ootori, he could hardly do less.

-

"_You are each being given $100,000 to due with whatever you wish, on a single condition. You must have, from this capital, at least $500,000 dollars in your possession by the end of the month."_

"_Yes, Father," the three Ootori sons chorused, their minds already frantic in thought as they stood within their father's dark office. _

_The youngest glanced from behind his glasses at the two older, taller boys beside him and allowed himself the slightest of smiles._

_Kyoya spent the night at his desk, filling paper after paper with careful calculation, the glow of the computer illuminating his eager eyes as he planned. For the rest of the month, he kept his activities carefully concealed, purchasing under a false name and politely avoiding inquiries by his brothers. _

_Thirty-one days after their last meeting, the three sons stood within their father's office. The oldest explained, quietly, apologetically, how the $538,482 company he had had primary management of had been underhandedly stolen from him by a wily investor under the name of K.O. who bought 51 of the company's stock yesterday, leaving him with only $494,300. _

_His brother then followed with the solemn news that the business of his primary investment had been driven to bankruptcy due to the competition from another corporation that had rapidly grown in power just this month under new ownership. He did not even have the initial one thousand dollars left._

_Then the youngest son, with a bashful, humble tone, explained how his own indulgence in his emotional interests had allowed him to only assemble $494,400._

-

The largest complement they had given him, and the only one he had really needed, was when they said it would be easier if he had been born stupid.

They were also glaring at him then, and followed it with a threat of some sort (not even a good threat really, because if he remembers it correctly it was some sort of anatomical impossibility), probably not realizing the significance of their own statement.

He agrees though, that things would have been easier if he wasn't more talented than his elder brothers, as was expected. That was assuming that ambition came with ability, which was his own belief.

Maybe then he could have stood by and let his brothers receive an inheritance granted for the sole reason of them being born before him. As it was, he couldn't really do that.

-

"_Hey, Kyoya. Brat."_

"_Yes, niisan?"_

"_We're going to beat the hell out of you if you try to show us up like that again."_

"_Ah, I'll remember that then."_

"_You better, prick."_

-

The most interesting thing about their relationship, in his opinion, was the way his older brothers seemed to be able to ally themselves against him. It made no sense really, for them to fall to the emotional tendency to join up in their hate of him.

If they viewed him as a threat, didn't they also see each other as competition?

Perhaps they planned to destroy him first, and then fight between themselves. It wasn't a very good business strategy, and didn't really work in this instance either.

Kyoya didn't really mind if they banded together against him. He had seen them as one obstacle from the beginning, made up of Idiot One and Idiot Two.

At least when they worked together, they could put up something of a challenge.

Besides, it was more than a little fun to put on the charade as the respectful little brother. After all, he could always destroy their business forays in the background as K.O., manipulate failures in front of Father, and arrange schemes to turn them against each other.

From what he knows, siblings within normal families fight all the time.

Boys will be boys, right?


End file.
